Defensor Paxis
by The Duchessa of Belezza
Summary: Kagome, a miko in training, is apparently involved in an ancient prophecy that dictates that she, along with the four reincarnated souls of the ShikonnoTama will save the world. AU InuKag SanMir
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue:_

A messenger zoomed through the night, avoiding street, car and even the feeble light the moon cast upon a sleeping suburb of Tokyo. Her wings beat frantically, but the human world was quickly draining her strength and if she didn't return soon, she'd be one dead pixie. She breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes alighted upon Sunset Shrine. Her task was nearly complete.

Inside the humble shrine lay a college girl in her bed fitfully sleeping: tossing and turning, and nearly falling off her bed at one point. With her raven tresses splayed out across her pillow and her hands clutching her sheet, the pixie was happy to awaken her from her nightmare. How the young pixie did this, however, leaves much to be desired.

"Kagome! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" pixie wailed as the girl woke with a start and looked around for the sound. Her brow lifted in annoyance at the intrusion, the sweat on it gleaming in the partial moonlight.

"Oh it's you again. Couldn't you have come when it was day? It's…" Her voice trailed off, looking at the digital alarm clock resting on her nightstand, "2:56, and I have a strict, 'nothing before my morning coffee' regimen, and I have a huge test this morn-" but she was interrupted by the overexcited pixie.

"But this one can't wait! It's from King Phillus, and he said it was urgent. Only for you 'cuz no other priestess would do!"

The dark haired girl stiffly rose from her bed; yawning and running a hand through her tousled locks while donning a robe and slippers over her tank top and flannel bottoms. If King Phillus was involved, she thought, there was bound to be something big going on. She sat down heavily on the chair stationed next to her dressing table, mentally sighing at the fact that she'd never get any sleep and would probably miss her test. Heck, if things went the way it did last time Piff was sent here, she wouldn't even be in the same dimension while it was going on.

"Thanks for the flattery but I think King Phillus knows that I'm not even fully certified-" But once again Kagome was cut off by the pixie, now it was hopping up and down, upsetting the numerous items on Kagome's shelf.

"No no no! Because you're tied up into all this too! King Phillus is sure of it!"

"Calm down Piff, and get off of my sutras, they're still drying." Kagome said as she inspected the kanji on some of the crumpled papers.

"Great. Now it says 'double' instead of 'destroy'. That'll be a huge help while exorcising a demon." She muttered in dark undertones just before the pixie tossed a thick envelope at her stomach, her reflexes the only thing saving her from a bruised tummy.

She unwrapped the package while Piff sat upon her shoulder, waiting to see what the king of the Other Realm wanted to say so badly that it couldn't wait until a decent hour. Kagome gingerly pulled out the first page to see a piece of stationary with what looked to be a hand drawn illustration that explained whatever message King Phillus was trying to convey. The letter itself was written in a lurid green ink with her name written in purple bubble letters at the top.

_Kagome,_

It said. Kagome sweat dropped as she thought about how much it looked like some of the letters she had sent and received. In middle school.

_I write this to you in high hopes that you are well and that your beard grows ever longer! Ha! That was a Dungeons and Dragons joke. If you're not a D&Der, like me, you could never possibly understand it. How boring your life must be with out the wonders of Dungeons and Dragons. Did I tell you that my 12th level paladin fought a chromatic dragon? It was awesome. I mean, I died, but what a way to die! I think my dungeon master, Larry, is out to get me because I'm prettier than him. But who isn't? The man needs a new shirt, I've never seen him without that off-yellow and green one on._

Here was a crude drawing of Larry dying a very terrible death. It involved spears and a slow acting poison among other things.

_But anyway, your lack of D & D knowledge aside, I write to you because a terrible prophecy has been uncovered at our Sector of Secrecy. But no one ever goes in there but my wife and she just found it today. I don't know how she can stand all that dust in there. I won't step foot into my own basement without my Allegra 24 hour allergy medication in full effect. So you can imagine the hideous amount of dust in there .I'm also allergic to iguana dander, but that's a long story on how I learned this, involving a shovel, a mango and 13 bags of the off brand Froot Loops.(You know, the kind that tastes like sawdust)_

_Well, anyway, she found this long winded prophecy and it went like this:_

_**In a time…**_

_Okay, let's scratch that. It's too long for me to copy it down, but basically it says that a priestess in need of a test, (Hey! That rhymes! Cool!) will find herself in a struggle involving the Shikon no Tama and the four different reincarnated souls within. These would represent Love, Courage, Friendship, and Wisdom. So, she would have to combine these souls to create a power so strong; it could defeat a great evil. Which is great, 'cuz that demon gang leader Naraku is one bad dude. And he killed my paternal 3rd cousin. So he's got to go down. And I figured that since Naraku is gaining so much power ( or 'street cred' whichever one you prefer) and you could be 'the priestess in need of a test' or whatnot, 'cuz you've failed your certification exam like 20 times. That is a record number of failings in case you were wondering. We've been able to track the Shikon souls down to Tokyo but after that, we're lost. So your mission, should you accept it, (but you really don't have a choice in the matter) will be to track down these reincarnations of the Shikon. And remember: The Shikon jewel's souls' and the dark forces have been fighting for over 500 years, the spirits are bound to have been corrupted somewhat. Don't presume that the spirits' name dictates their character or actions. Their true powers will only be released when the priestess (A.K.A. Kagome/you) unlocks it. _

_So let me know when you find all those souls and stuff._

_May your cup always refill itself, and the wyverns never capture your lava lamp of imperial sage-dom,_

_King Phill-dawg_

_P.S.: Do you like my new name? Yea, I thought of it by myself. I rock, I know. Does it remind you of a Philly cheese steak combined with a chili cheese dog? Yea, I wanted it to._

_Later!_

By this time Kagome had sweat dropped a puddle around her and was scratching her head at the apparent insanity of the Other Realm's ruler. She then mentally refreshed herself on the mystical Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls. The Jewel had been lost over 500 years ago in an epic battle over good and evil… and to that was the extent of Kagome's knowledge of the gem. Ancient Myths and Fables _sounded _like a fun class for her extra-curricular class for miko certification at Kyokotsu School of Magical Arts… but it wasn't. The teacher had a lovely voice, one that could, and did, lull her to sleep every single class period. That probably had some sort of affect on her inability to pass the miko certification exam…

She sighed and pulled out all the papers behind the Kings… erm… interesting one, praying that someone else had written them. Inside she found some profiles of some individuals that may fit the bill of one of the reincarnated souls. First she'd find these people, then, she'd figure out a way to defeat Naraku with their souls. But first and foremost, she had to get some sleep.

Kagome laid the papers on her desk and flopped onto her bed; not bothering to take her robe or slippers off, and was dead to the world in 2 minuets. This left Piff to steal away quietly into the breaking day.


	2. Chapter 2

Defensor Paxis

Summary: Kagome, a miko in training, is apparently involved in an ancient prophecy that dictates that she, along with the four reincarnated souls of the Shikon-no-Tama will save the world. AU InuKag SanMir

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or anything else that is copyrighted in this story.

**Chapter 1: Questionable tomato soup**

The coffee shop was busy. Busier than normal which was sure to please this twenty- something's boss. But for now, it was her, and not her domineering manager, that had to deal with all the strange characters that frequented this corner café.

Sango skillfully avoided a spill of suspicious nature in the middle of the walkway as she set down an elderly couple's bill in the center of the alcove they were snuggling in. Sango always found it endearing to see little old couples together like that.

"Oh Mike," The older woman murmured as she gently grabbed his left and in her own.

"Carol" The handsome gentlemen replied, twiddling with her wedding band while gazing into her blue, if not a touch rheumy, eyes.

Still somewhat distracted, Sango turned around and stepped, her foot expecting to meet the somewhat sticky linoleum floor. Instead, her right foot meet a round and pink object. And because most of Sango's weight had already shifted from the heel of her foot to the ball, she began to fall face forward.

Apparently not learning from her very recent experience, Sango expected her face to meet the somewhat sticky linoleum floor with a rather stupendous crash. But just as before, Sango was surprised, and the floor stopped its rush to greet her only inches away from her face.

'Now I wonder what this could be…' She thought, 'I should have hit the floor by now, maybe my body has finally realized its superhuman powers and has thus manifested itself in levitation? Yes that would be wonderful… but I wonder what will happen to me if my boss finds out. OH MY GOSH he'll fire me! Just like in X-men when Logan and Rogue get kicked out of that bar for being mutants! Only I'm not a patron! I have to work, if I can't work what will Kohaku and I do? We could go to Canada! That's it, Canada. Kohaku always said that he liked maple syrup…'

Yes, all of that went through Sango's mind in the moments after the disastrous fall. And it wasn't until she began to rant to herself about the health benefits of maple syrup that she realized she was being held.

Around the waist.

Well, not so much anymore, as the hands had begun to move south…

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

A high pitched squeak as a loud slap echoed across the suddenly quiet yet even more so crowed café.

The roving hand had snapped Sango back to reality and instinctively she slapped. She couldn't help it. It seemed like the natural thing anyone would do.

The molester's facial expression didn't change in the least as Sango wiggled out of his almost unyielding grasp and glared from beneath the crouched figure. The man's face held a mischievous expression, as if he was a kid in store that primarily sold foods that contain ridiculously high amounts of corn syrup, fructose and glucose. His dark eyes gazed vacantly out ahead as Sango began to wonder if she had slapped a handicapped or insane person.

Then he fell over, like a rock.

A dead rock to be more accurate.

"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh…."Sango thought aloud as she rushed to help her fallen patron. As she fretted about his prone form, an unsympathetic bark of laughter could be heard in the darker corner of the café at the seemingly continuous mishaps of the waitress.

Ignoring the insensitive response she received; Sango continued to desperately trying to feel his pulse (she wasn't having any luck as she pressing on his wind pipe, effectively suffocating the unconscious man. Let us take a moment to give thanks that she did not decide to go into the medical field). Noticing the bluish tinge on the face of the man, it was here that she looked around the suddenly stuffy shop in search of a medicinally adept person.

Spying a forty-something with a five-o'clock shadow wearing nursing attire sitting alone at one of the free standing tables, she motioned wildly to the man and back to the floor, a pleading look in her eyes to assist.

"Sorry," he said, holding his hands up in a pacifying manner, "I only wear the scrubs 'cuz they're comfortable. My grandma, she works at Kaiser Permanente, got them for me. I have no idea what to do." At this he settled back into his delightfully cushiony chair to watch the rest of the scene unfold.

At this Sango darkly muttered quite a few unlady-like words, some of the more socially acceptable were about misleading garments, unhelpful customers, and lecherous men who got what was coming, handicapped or not. Realizing that no one in the café was going to help, she returned to her pulse- finding ministrations.

It was to this scene that Kagome walked into for her mandatory morning cup of coffee. What she saw was her favorite waitress on the floor strangling one of the customers with an incredibly rapt audience.

"I think I'll come back later,"

''''

It was white.

Everything was in shapes or shades of white.

Miroku fully opened one eye to take in the insane amount of the lack of color in his present surroundings.

Two circular, magenta intruders interrupted his line of vision and pried the second eye open with a penetration that left him feeling less than adequate.

With his full vision intact, Miroku was able to see a face staring intently at him with those odd colored eyes; although he wasn't one to talk: his lavender windows had gotten him places… and people.

As Miroku fondly remembered one of the more _memorable_ places with a most _unforgettable_ person, Sango figured that her community service was paid in full. She had ridden in the ambulance with the creep muttering something about Yugata Park and a person named Mushin (compliments of an overbearing, suddenly materializing boss who was paranoid about lawsuits and prestige) and she was beat. She had to hold her favorite sweater around the guys head to stop the bleeding coming form the side of his head. And she still had to go home and attempt to make something edible of the sparse contents of her refrigerator for Kohaku and herself. As the crazed and possibly forever handicapped man's eyes glazed over and his mouth spilt into a charming, but goofy grin; she turned to leave the eerily white hospital room and try her best to recall a recipe fit for human consumption that consisted of goldfish crackers, ketchup, and a head of lettuce (AKA the only food in her house).

As she dodged between the hordes of interns, patients and visitors, Sango spotted a familiar face. He was walking with a petite brunette, a handsome black man, and a tall blond man and seemed to be very agitated. The three of them were all apparently doctors by their white coats.

'The man in the café!' Sango thought, "the one with the scrubs on...'

Although he wasn't wearing the scrubs now, he was obviously well versed in the lay-out of the hospital; with his well worn cane he quickly strode towards the cafeteria. Then he made shooing gestures toward all three of his companions and they went their separate ways.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she snagged the blond man who was talking to him and asked, "Hey, is he a doctor?" while pointing to the limping, retreating form.

"Depends on your definition of 'doctor'" He coolly replied in a British accent.

At this he removed himself from her grasp and continued walking down the hallway.

"Hmm" Sango mused as she walked out the automatic doors. As she began to ponder the mystery of the man further a window front display caught her attention and the pseudo doctor was driven out of her mind.

''''

Kagome weaved throughout the hordes of students at Kyokotsu School of Magical Arts while simultaneously reading up on the last 3 chapters in Myths and Faerie Tales: a Second Look at Children's Bedtime Stories by a Mr. A. Fowl. She hurriedly glanced at her watch and said, "5 minutes… I can do that."

She huffed as she recalled the day's events that led her up to this point while turning a page as well as a corner. A homicidal waitress had prevented her form her normal morning coffee, (black: with 7 packets of splenda, 3 ½ packs of sweet 'n low with a little of Sango's homemade 'wake me up' tonic) therefore she had to settle for the substandard coffee at Starbucks. In addition to being ridiculously expensive, the coffee had also done nothing for her mood or early morning drowsiness.

Whilst sliding into the doorway to her impending midterm, Kagome thought of the one thing that had kept running in her mind the whole day. When she had left the café, she had felt a déjà vu: about everything. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but _something_ felt the same about this day…

And, for magically trained people like her, déjà vu wasn't just a funny feeling. It meant something.

"Ancient Myths and Fables: Passed" proclaimed one very happy Kagome Higurashi 4 hours later to the dark haired classmate walking beside her mere minutes after her midterm in said class. All thoughts and worries had given way to pure exhilaration at the thought of achievement in at least one area. Kagome released a stretch and a yawn while catching her blue eyes with his acid green ones.

"Lucky you, I think bombed it" he mumbled at his bubbly friend "Some 'academic exchange student' " this he said with accompanying air quotes, "I am. I know I'm going to be in for a lecture when my friends back home hear about this. Well, at least from one of them. The other bloke will probably just shrug and ask 'Who cares?'" He sighed and ruffled his messy black hair.

"Oh, don't be mad, we each have our strengths and weaknesses in our magical subjects." The priestess quipped as they sat down on a grassy hill overlooking some of the laboratory buildings. She threw down her backpack with visible glee in that the last of her exams was over and her winter break was hers to enjoy, apart from any school work. "Mine just happens to be a photographic memory and 5 minutes before any exam-"

"That isn't the Miko Certification one" her companion jibed.

"And yours," she continued, "is in all that defense and quick spell casting." At this she jumped up and made a motion that resembled a cowboy drawing out his gun coupled with some quirky kung fu moves that ended up landing her on her backside.

Despite her antics, her friend's disposition took on a visibly darker tone as he spoke, "Yeah, defend… that's all I ever do." As he quickly got up and strode toward a gnarled tree in the distance with only a muttered 'see you later'.

At this Kagome sighed, sat down again, and drew her backpack closer, unzipping it and retrieving a thick manila envelope from within. She examined the information from the list of the suspected souls. The list contained at least 20 names, pictures, addresses and other relevant information about the soul of friendship. As she silently scanned the profiles, one jumped out at her, which she breathed aloud:

"Shippo Kusanagi"

''''

Kohaku grimaced. As he looked down at his dismal dinner he said a little prayer that it would be at least edible. That was the most he could hope for.

It wasn't that Sango wasn't a good cook, in fact, she was a great one… when she had a full refrigerator and the 'cooking spirit' (Her words, not his). But lately the Nakagawa twosome had been short on both. Kohaku knew that the run down apartment it was 'only temporary'; but the provisional situation had turned out to be rather permanent, at least to him.

It had all started when, about a year ago, his only living parent had died in a hunting accident. His family was in fact, rather wealthy, but his father had been a notorious procrastinator and had never 'gotten around' to neither his nor Sango's trust funds or to his own will; which tied up all their family money in the legal system, leaving his elder sister and him with nothing for the moment.

But Kohaku had to be grateful; Sango had turned 18 only a couple of days before their father's death. If she hadn't been of age, she couldn't be his legal guardian; and God only knows what it would have been like in foster care. At this his gave a rueful smile, he cared more about being with Sango than he ever did about spending time with his Dad. He supposed that his constant business trips and fleeting visits in-between may have something to do with that.

"Kohaku! Eat your tomato soup. It's good for you!" voiced a slightly distressed Sango from the stride and a half distance it took to get from the bedroom (where Sango was putting on her pajamas) to the kitchen.

'Is that what it is?' thought Kohaku as he stirred the chunky yellow concoction, then raised the spoon to his lips, about to take a tentative sip.

Before Kohaku could drop dead, a loud knock reverberated throughout the 2- bedroom apartment; most certainly saving the 15 year old's use of motor functions and ability to breathe on his own.

Kohaku jumped up at the distraction, hopeful for anything to delay his inevitable consumption of the questionable tomato soup.

"Sit." Sango commanded as she strode from the side room in a giant T-shirt that displayed her favorite football team on the front in large, black letters. Her order ended all hope for Kohaku's escape as he sulked back to the kitchen table.

Before Sango could look through the peep-hole to identify the person, she heard a voice say,

"Um… Miss Sango? I have something of yours"

Recognizing the voice , Sango quickly opened the door and found herself face-to-face with the molester from earlier that day, nonchalantly swinging a white handbag side to side. His head was bandaged and one cheek was suspiciously red as he grinned and held it out to her.

And just as quickly as she had opened the door, she slammed it shut again.

'What the heck is that pervert doing with my bag?' she asked her self.

Almost as in response to her thoughts, the raging pervert said, "You left your bag in my hospital room."

She re-opened the door to see the molester with an even bigger, if possible, smile sliced across his face.

"I looked inside for your driver's license to find your address"

"Is it one of your habits to rummage through a woman's' purse after assaulting her?" she icily retorted as she took the bag from his outstretched hand

"Only after they have graciously accompanied me to the hospital in my hour of need" he replied, without missing a beat slipping both hands into his the pockets of his dark blue jeans.

"My slap was the thing that gave you that concussion and sent you to the hospital in the first place"

"Details, details" he waved it off "what matters is that I am returning your personal belongings to you with my deepest apologies."

Suddenly embarrassed by her crass actions Sango stammered, "Well thanks so much, I can't tell you how much I was looking for this. I don't know how to thank you-"

"I do"

"What?" asked Sango as she stepped back from the doorway, prepared to slam it again.

"I know how you can thank me. You see, I left the hospital on a bad note," at this he remorsefully rubbed his red cheek, "and was unable to receive any type of dinner. In return for my most chivalrous return of your handbag, I humbly request a portion of what ever wonderful meal it is that I smell cooking from your home." At this he made a deep bow, and while raising himself up he kissed Sango's hand.

Sango's face turned a similar shade to what her tomato soup _should_ have looked like at Miroku's gestures as she made a quick nod of her assent.

"Fine, but this only a way of thanking you…" Sango trailed off, realizing she didn't even know his name.

"Takaya, Miroku" he said as he stuck out a hand

"Nakagawa, Sango" she said as she shook it.

"Kohaku" Sango called to her younger brother, "This is our guest for the evening, Miroku Takaya. He'll be joining us for dinner."

Kohaku looked up from his steadily curdling soup and said, "Good luck" in the most cryptic voice Miroku had ever heard from a child so young. Kohaku's disposition rattled him to the bone and he gently pulled around the collar of his black T-shirt and thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

Ok kiddies: that was the first chapter of my first story in a long time… it's been to long, I miss writing. Anyways, besides the normal pleads for reviews, I have included an extra special fun time game for all of you within the story! Because I hate OC's and fear that I myself may create one, there won't be any within this story! That's right all the background characters or people who have nothing to do with the actual storyline but are needed to fill up time/space will be actually characters from other TV shows, animes, movies, books or whatever I feel like. There are some subtle ones, and some more obvious ones, but they are there. I promise to not use actual people, rather the characters they play.

Ex: Tom Welling will not make an appearance in this fic. Clark Kent/Superman might.

Get it?

Oh yea, although King Phillus isn't a cameo, he is heavily _based_ off someone, so he's open to your interpretations!

I promise, this won't be a crossover! Just a poor authoress' attempt at originality.

Leave a review and tell me who you think the cameos are. Or if you think this is an incredibly stupid idea, inform me of my apparent idiocy.


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